Spectacle type hearing aid



Oct- 7 1952 A. M. scAlFE SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID 2 SHEETS-*SWEET lFiled Sept. 8, 1949 :Ill

INVENTOR ALAN M. SCAIFE Oct. 7, 1952 A. M. scAlFE l 2,513,282

SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID Filed Sept. 8, 1949v l 2 Sl-IEETS-SHEET 2lINVENTOR ALAN M. SCAIFE m u 4% i Patented ct. `7, 179522 UNITEDS'l'ATES PATENT OFFICE 2 asiatical o n l SPECTACLE TYPE HEARING AID lAlan-M. Scaife, Pittsburgh, Pa. ,Application-September 8, 1949, kSerialNo. 114,537

rThis invention relates to hearing aids and parl ticularly to hearingaids which are characterized by their inconspicuousness andcompactness.vIt relates more particularly tofahearing aidhaving provision forsupporting the sound Vvibration receiving portion thereof in fixedposition on'the head of the wearer so that movement. of the wearers headcorrespondingly -moves the sound vibration receiving portion of. thehearing aid. In its more specific aspects the invention relates to ahearing aid in which the reproducer and/ or the entire means forconverting soundvibrations into electrical impulses is or arecarried'by. a Support adapted to be worninsubstantially xed'position onthe users head.

All hearing aids heretofore developed have two very serious .drawbackswhichy militate against their use by many persons in need of. aid.tovhearing. Perhaps the most serious drawback is the conspicuousness ofthehearing aid; Many hard of hearing persons are sensitive of their poor1 claim, (C1. 17e- 407) hearing and are loathe to wearconspicuous'hear#` to manipulate and wear, but they arehighlyvundesirable because of the conspicuousness` of the soundreproducer and thesound vibration receiving portion. Whilethe-powerunitmaybeqconcealed in the clothing-ofthe wearer, the soundreproducer cannot` be thus concealed asit must be in or adjacent the earor at least4 disposed against a bone of thehead'if thehearingaid is ofthe bone conduction type. `The *sound` vibration receiving portion ofthehearing aid must be positioned to adequately receivethe vsoundvibrations which are'to beconverteddnto electrical impulses foractivating the soundreproducer and is normally worn yexposed-upon thefront of the wearers body. It is -possibleforthe sound vibrationreceiving portion of the-hearing aid to be disposed in a pocket if'thematerial of, the pocket is suiciently light that it will'not seriouslyinterfere with `passage of sound vibrations from without to the soundvibration receiving portion. In any event, however, there must beconductors of electricityfextending between the means for convertingsound vibrationsy into electrical impulses and the sound reproducerwhich is activated by. the electrical impulses for activating theauditory nervcofy the Wearerand 2 v when the sound vibration receivingportion is carried by the body below the head,`even if it is disposedina pocket, the conductors of electricity leading to itare more or'lessconspicuous.

lIt has heretofore beenproposed to mount the rsound reproducer of ahearing aid on orin connection with a v spectacle frame, the spectacleframe being utilized as a means; of support for the sound reproducerandto renderthe sound reproducer lessconspicuous than in the normalhearing aid. However, all `hearing aids with which I amiamiliar have thesound vibration receiving portion and the 4battery carried by a portiono f the wearers bodygbelow the head and connected with the soundreproducer by conductors of electricity.

A further drawback of hearing aids heretofore developed is that sincethe sound vibrationl receiving portionhas been carriedY uponthe wearers"body below thev headits orientation is xed forl any position of thewearers torso. If the wearerisv conferring with a numberof peoplegrouped about the wearer, the sound vibration receiving portion of thehearing aid may effectively Ireceive sound vibrations caused by thespeech of one or more of the persons present but rnot the-soundvibration's caused bythe speech of others. v'locounteract this`drawback the wearer must eitherturn his body'toward each speakerin-turn-or hold the sound vibration receiving portion# of the hearingaidin hisy handvand orient it toward the various speakers. Eitheralternative is distasteful to av'hard of hearing person.

I. have devised a hearing aidv which may be embodied in variousforms-al1 of which Aobviate disadvantages of hearing aids heretoforeavail able; I: provide a hearing aid comprisingga support adapted tobeWorn in substantially 4iixed position .on the head of the user andhaving-portions relatively positioned to engage portions of the head .tomaintain it in placameans for con-r portionof the hearing aidiniixedpositionk rela,-

tively to the wearers head Vso that movemcntof ,the `wearers headcorrespondingly' moves the sound vibration receiving portion has initself twoimportant advantages not heretofore realizedTheo-,nrstladvantage isthat it lis-not necessary for the wearer toeither turn his body or hold the sound vibration receiving portion ofthe hearing aid in his hand and orient it toward the various speakerswhen in conference; the wearer need merely turn his head toward aspeaker and thereby, even without consciousness on the part of thewearer, automatically orient the sound vibration receiving portion ofthe hearing aid to most effectively receive the sound vibrations causedby the speech of the speaker. A further advantage realized is that thehearing aid can be made selective. When it is properly and may by thatportion of the frame be pressed against a bone of the head in thevicinity of the ear, such as the mastoid bone. If it is desired that theentire hearing aid be self-contained within a support having the generaloonguration of a spectacle frame, the power unit may be mounted in thespectacle frame. For example, the spectacle frame may have opposedportions extending to positions adjacent the ears of the wearer, whichportions `are hollow. The power unit may be disposed within one or bothof those hollow portions and conductors of electricity also oriented toreceive sound vibrations emanating 5 from a particular source, it willoperate atin-v creased eiiiciency for a particular currentA consumption.Conversely, less current is required to operate the hearing aid when itis selectively oriented, adding to the wearers comfort and reducing thecost of operation. Smaller batfixed position on the wearers head is thatit may be more effectively camoufiaged than when mounted on the wearerstorso and connected with the sound reproducer by conductors ofelectricity which are exposed to view. For example, the support for thesound vibration receiving por` tion may have the general configurationof'a spectacle frame. The sound vibration receiving portion may bemounted in or formed as a part of the spectacle frame so that it isinconspicuous'. Desirably the sound vibration receiving portion iscarried in xed position at the portion of the support which is disposedat the front of the wearers head when the support is being worn so thatit is positioned to receive sound vibrations emanating from in front ofthe wearers head. The support may have a portion disposed at or abovethe wearers nose in which the sound vibration receiving portion of thehearing aid may be mounted. The support may have opposed bearingportions spaced apart a distance approximately equal to the width of aportion of a human nose and adapted to bear on the nose of the wearer asin an ordinary spectacle frame and the sound vibration receiving portionmay be mounted on the crosspiece which bridges the wearers nose.

My hearing aid has important advantages as pointed out above incident tomounting the sound vibration receiving portion in fixed position on thewearers head even though the power unit is separately mounted and eventhough a more or less conspicuous sound reproducer is used. However,further advantages in inconspicuousness and compactness of the hearingaid are obtainable by mounting the sound reproducer and/or the powerunit in the support which carries the sound vibration receiving portion.For example, when the support for the sound .vibration receiving portionhas the general configuration of a spectacle frame it'may have a portionextending to a position adjacent an ear of the wearer and the soundreproducer may be carried by that portion of the support. If the soundreproducer is of the bone conductiontype it may be mounted in theportion of the frame which extends to a position adjacent the wearersear concealed within the frame may appropriately connect the power unitwith the sound vibration receiving portion and the sound reproducer sothat sound vibrations received by the sound vibration receiving portionare converted into electrical impulses which activate the soundreproducer which in turn activates the auditory nerve of the wearer.

lWhile it is possible to embody the entire hearing aid within a supporthaving the general configuration of a spectacle frame it may in somecases be desirable to mount the power unit separately from the framewhile mounting the remainder of the hearing aid in the frame. In thatcase the power unit may be connected with the frame by conductors ofelectricity which may be made to resemble the ribbon or cord sometimesworn with spectacles to save them from damage in the event of fallingoil. Separate mounting of the power unit enables a power unit of greatercapacity and longer life to be employed than can be concealed within thesupport although power units are now available which are of such smallsize that they can be concealed within a support having the generalconfiguration of a spectacle frame.

Other details, objectsand advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of av present preferred embodimentthereof proceeds.

In the drawings I have shown a present preferred embodiment of theinvention in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a self-containedhearing aid having a support having the general configuration of aspectacle frame which carries the entire means for converting soundvibrations into electrical impulses including the power unit and whichalso carries the sound reproducer;

g Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the hearing aid shown inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view to enlarged scale taken on the lineIII-III of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view to enlarged scale taken on the ylineIV--IV of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view to enlarged scale taken on the lineV-V of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view to enlarged scale taken on the lineVI-VI of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional View to enlarged scale taken on the lineVII- VII of Figure l; and

Figure 8 is a wiring diagram showing one form of electrical circuitwhich may be employed in the hearing aid of Figures 1-7.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings,` the hearing'aid isshown in its entirety in Figures 1 and 2. It is entirely self-containedwithin a supportadapted to be worn in substantially fixed position onthe head of the user and having portions relatively positioned to engageportions of the head to' maintain it in place. The support shown isdesignated generally by reference numeral 2 vand has the generalconfiguration of a spectacle frame.'r It has opposed s. bearingportionsd spaced apart a distance ap-y proximately equalto the'width ofaportion of a human nose and adapted to bear on the nose of the wearer.VIt hasvopposed portions 4 and 5 extendingv yto positions adjacent theears-of the wearer and having slightly curved end portions 6 and 'irespectively which are adapted to liey atop the ears and to pressagainst the head thereabove, as 4against themastoid bone, and tocooperate with, the portions 3 to maintain the'support in iixed positionon the head. rIhe portions 3 are integral or connected with a front part8 of the support 2. Thefront part 8 has two por.-l

tionsk t shaped ask-lens4 frames connected'by. rai bridge It. wearersnose ,therbridge 'I0 is disposed at ythe frontof the unperportionofthe-:nose."'-4

The essential parts of thew hearing vaid are .the means for convertingsound vibrations 11,112.0y elec:-

trical impulses and thesound reproducer acti-y vated by theelectricalgi-mpulses for activating the auditory nerve: of the wearer.The sound reproducer is disposedjuih` the curved end por tion l oftheportion -5 of `the support 2 and isr shown diagrammatica'lly at I2 inFigure 1. The sound reproducer I2 is ofthe bone conduction type and isby the portion 5- of thei support pressed against the m'astoidbone-generally above the wearers leit ear. j The sound reproducer issuitably mounted in the portion 1 so that. when it is activated'by theelectrical impulses coming to it from the means for converting soundvibrations into electrical impulses it will in turn through the mastoidboneof the lwearer activate the auditory nerve `of the wearer. 4Theprinciple teries I3, I si and I5 relectrically connectedffas willpresently be described. The batteriesarepf difr-` ferent voltages, th'eba-tteryfI3lfiavin g, a voltage' of the order-oi one and one-half volts,the; bat-A tery it lhaving a voltage vofthe order of three volts and thebattery I5 having a volta'geoi Athe order of thirtyvolts. The-functionof the power unit consisting of the batteries I3, I 4 ,and I15is tosupply the necessary electrical energy to operate the means forconverting sound vibrations into electrical impulses. The means forconverting sound vibrations into .electrical impulses comprises a soundvibration Areceiving yportion I6 which is desirably mounted in -therbridger I and which may be a microphone landthree transistors Il, I3and I9 4and two transformers 20 and 2|,

all of the .transistors'and transiormers being disposed .withintheportion Aof :the support. The electrical ,connections will be describedin ydetail below. A switch 22 forclosing and opening the electricalcircuit to energize and kd'e-energizefthe hearing aid is kprovided ronthe portion 4 of the support, the switch comprising a turnable ringoperable by the lingers oi thelwearer of the'hear-v ing aid-either4when-the hearing aid is beingworn or when it is being held in thehands, the circuit being closed when the ring is in one rotativeposition and being open when the ring is in another rotative position. Asimilar ring 23 is provided on the portion 5 of the support for volumecontrol, i. e., for controlling the amount of current passing from thepower unit through the When the portions4 3 bear onthes f. washer .as`shown Figure means for converting sound vibrations into elec'- tricalimpulses.

,The front part 8 of the support 2 and the portions4 andthereofmaybeforzned separately, as, for examplaby beingrnolded out of plasticmaterial. The respectiverings 22 and 23 may bedisposed at the jointsbetween the front part 8 and the respectiveportions .4 and 5. The frontpart` 8 yhas the.i required-number of conductors ofelectricity disposedand yconcealed within it, the conductors, either being permanentlyembedded in the material of which the front part 8 is molded or beingthreadedthrough cored ducts formed inthe front part '8 when it is made.The right-hand end portion 24 ofthe iront part 8, viewing Figure l, hasat its end a recess 25 into which a stern 2-6 of the portion extends asshown in Figure '1, thestem also passing through the ring-22. Theportion-4 (and the same is true-of the portion 5) may be made in twohalves as shown bythe cross-sectioning` in Figures 5 and '7 to enableeasy introduction thereinto of the 4portions of the hearing aid whichare to be disposed therein, the halves being fastened together in anysuitable manner as by cementing.

The stern E6 is preferably cemented Within the recess 25 but provisionis made for turning of the switch ringk 22. Ijhe switch ring 212 hasformed thereinparallel to its axis asmany bores 2l as there arevconductors extending from the front part 8 into;l the portion 4, threesuch bores be ingindicatedin Figure 4. In each bore 21a-re positionedcontact members ,2:9 urged apart by a compression coil spring 29dis-posed therebetween as shown in Figure 7. The .contactmembers arearranged so that when the ring 22 is in one vrotative position they makeelectrical contact between the end portionsi) of the conductors ofelectricity. the front part ;8 and the endportions 3l vof thevconductors ofA electricityin the portion i and when the .ring w22 is inanother rotative position they are :angularly onset from the ends 30 and3| .so that current ycannot pass therebetween.

The :ring '23 Ahas one bore 13.2 therethrough parallel .to its axis andvcontact members 33 are mounted'therein and urged apart `by a compressioncoilfspring 3d. The left-handcontact member 3S viewing Figure 6 always.engages a contactzring 35 Vto `which extends a vconductor ofelectricity 36'. Mounted inthe end portion 3l of the front part `8 is aresistance pad 3'8 .to vone endaof which extends a conductor i3d, there.-

sistance pad having generally the forni of a splitr Upon turning of thering 52:3."the contact members close va circuit between the.contactfria- 3.5. and different portions of theiresistance .pad &3whereby to vary the *,.amount of current passingv through the circuit. V

`Theend :.portioni vof theiront'ipart is shown asl having a centralcored `opening 'fit with a reduced recess 4i at its. extremity receivingthe stemt .oi' 'the portion li fwherebyflto connect the portion '.5 tothe fronti part :8. in .a manner vsimilar `totthatfzin:which the portion:d is connected toitheir ont :part :SL

yAs well :flrnowln' to those skilled in the art, 'the hearing aid may beoperated by many different types of electrical circuits. Any operativeelectrical circuit may be employed in my hearing s aid. One possiblecircuit is given purely by Way 44 extends from the switch 22 to themicrophonev I 6. A conductor 45 extends from the microphone I6 to theemitter electrode y46 f of the transistor I'I. A conductor 41 extendsfrom the collector electrode 48 of the transistor II to one side of thetransformer 20. The circuit through that side of the transformer 20 iscompleted by a conductor 49 which extends to a conductor 50 whichextends to the switch 22 and a corresponding conductor I which extendsfrom the switch 22 to the battery I5. The batteries I3, I4 and I5 areconnected in series. a conductor 52 extending from the battery I3 to thebattery I4 and a conductor 53 extending from the battery I4 to thebattery I5.

The opposite side of the transformer 20 is connected through a conductor36 with the contact member 33 cooperating with the resistance pad 38.The conductor 39 from the resistance pad 38 is connected to thetransformer 28 at 55. The conductor y39 is connected with a conductor 56which extends to the switch 22. A corresponding conductor 51 extendsfrom the switch 22 to the conductor 52.

The transformer 2D is connected with the emitter electrode 58 of thetransistor I8 by a conductor 56. The collector electrode 60 of thetransistor I8 is connected with the transformer 2| by a conductor 6I. Aconductor 62 leads from the transformer 2I to the conductor 50.

The transformer 2I is connected with the emitter electrode 63 of thetransistor I9 by a conductor 64. The collector electrode 65 of thetransistor I9 is connected with the sound reproducer I2 by a conductor86. A conductor 61 leads from the sound reproducer I2 to the conductor5U.

The ground electrode 68 of the transistor II, the ground electrode 69 ofthe transistor I8 and the ground electrode 'I0 of rthe transistor I9 aregrounded as is the conductor 53. A ground conductor may connect theground electrodes 68, 69 and I0 and the conductor 53.

Sound vibrations impinge on microphone IS and the resulting electricalimpulses are conducted through conductor 45 to the emitter electrode 46of the transistor I'I. Battery I3 supplies the current for operatingmicrophone I6. Changes in current between the emitter electrode 46 andthe ground electrode 68 of the transistor I'I produce changes in currentin the transistor path between collector electrode 48 and groundelectrode 68 which by virtue of the relatively high voltage of thebattery I5 have energy greater than that exerted by the current throughmicrophone I6, emitter electrode 46 and ground electrode 68. Transformer28 produces the voltage of the amplified speech currents from transistorII to match the resistance of the emitter electrode 58 and groundelectrode 69 of transistor I8. The resistance pad 31 acts in the natureof a rheostat to vary the amplitude of the electrical vibrationsreaching transistor I8 in order to control the volume of currentemployed for operating the hearing aid and hence the loudness of thesounds emanating from the sound reproducer I2. The energy of theelectrical impulses originating in the path between the collectorelectrode 6B and the ground electrode 69 of the transistor I8 derivedfrom the battery I5 is fed to the sound transformer 2| which matches theimpedance between'the output of the transistor I8 and the input of thetransistor I9 in a manner well known in the art. The output oftransistor I9 derived from the circuit including collector` electrode65, sound reproducer I2I battery I5 and ground electrode I0 represents aimpulses originating in microphone I 6 so that the wearers auditorynerve is activated.

I make no claim to the specific electrical circuit above described orthe manner of operation thereof. Possibly other circuits could moreeffectively perform the function. I am concerned with the reduction ofthe conspicuousness of the hearing aid by mounting at least the soundvibration receiving portion in fixed position on the support as aboveexplained. Maximum advantages from the standpoint of inconspicuousnesslare obtained by mounting the entire mechanism within the support sothat the hearing aid is entirely self-contained. no part of it is wornseparately upon any portion of the body below the head and no conductorsof electricity extend from the support to any external device.

While I have shown and described a present preferred embodiment of theinvention it is to be distinctlyunderstood that the invention is notlimited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied within the scopeof the following claim.

I claim: A

A hearing aid comprising a' support adapted to be worn in substantiallyxed position on the headv of the user and havingV the generalconfiguration of a spectacle frame, the support having a hollow bridgeportion positioned to lie above the nose, means for converting soundvibrations into electrical impulses, said means having a sound vibrationreceiving portion carried in xed position within the hollow bridgeportion so that movement'of the wearers head correspondingly moves saidsound vibration receiving portion, a sound reproducer carried by thesupport near the ear of the user and connections between said means andthe sound reproducer whereby the electrical impulses produced by saidmeans in turn produce audible sounds in the sound Vreproducer, theconnections being disposed within the support so as to be invisible fromwithout.

ALAN M. scAiFE.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:`

. UNITED STATES PATENTS 541,226 Great Britain NOV. 18, 1941

